Stealing Your Heart
by stove fairy
Summary: [Alternate Universe] Long long ago, rumours of the two mysterious identical Phantom Thieves have been spread throughout the country. A hundred years later, they have returned, and it was up to Commander Fujioka to capture them.
1. Legend

**1. Legend**

Disclaimer  
Ouran High School Host Club is the shared property between Hatori Bisco and Bones Studio. I own none of the characters nor the original plot line. Only the idea of this fanfic belongs to me.

Author's Note  
What you have to know is that this story is very unlike your usual Ouran fanfics; it has relations with neither Ouran Private Academy nor the host club whatsoever. The story itself still centres around Fujioka Haruhi of course (who is clearly not mistaken as a male here). However, in the case of this fic, the 'Scholarship Student' happens to be a Commander within the police force. Suou Tamaki, who we used to recognize as the 'King' is now the Commissioner, and is therefore, the boss of Haruhi. Most of the other characters will find their places within this story later on, so I won't spoil it for you here.  
Keep in mind that Haruhi is a policewoman in this story, that's why she may sometimes seem a bit unlike the Haruhi that we know. I have tried to keep her as in character as I could though, same with all the others.  
Anyways, read, enjoy, and review, ne?

--

_A woman in her late twenties sat elegantly beside a futon in which a young girl was tugged into._

_She smiled down at the child, gently stroking the youngster's chocolate-brown hair._

_"What's the story for tonight, mommy?" the child looked up eagerly at the okaa-san that she greatly admired, her tea-coloured globs twinkling with excitement._

_The mother took her daughter's hands in her own and began to narrate a tale in her ever-loving tone._

_"Long long ago—even before mommy's granny was born—rumours of the two mysterious identical Phantom Thieves have been spread throughout the country..._

_"Legend has it that nobody, not one single soul, has discovered the true identities of these two. Not even till this day."_

_The four-year-old gasped at this statement. She gazed at her mother in awe and waited for her to continue the story._

_The fair lady traced the outline of her daughter's face, glad that the young child was taking a great interest in the plot line. However, she could not help but to feel a little worried about that wild imagination of the youngster's._

_Would she be silly enough to stay awake for an entire night wanting to catch a glimpse of the legend, just as how she had waited up for Santa Clause last Christmas?_

_She hoped not._

_The older female shook her head, carrying on with the tale without noticing that the younger one was already prepared to enter dreamland._

_"It has been known to the people that the nature of the Phantom Thieves is a rather unusual one. Put aside the fact that they would send notices before stealing artworks from famous museums, the two never seemed to physically grow, for every time they appear, they always look to be around twenty-three-years-old at the most. That's how it has been for centuries; it was as if they weren't even human...And on top of it all, they—"_

_The snoring of the petite girl took her mother by surprise._

_With a pleasant sigh and another affectionate smile at her beloved, Fujioka Kotoko tiptoed out of the room, carefully closing the door behind her._

--

"Commander honey!"

Hearing the sickening approach of her title, twenty-two-year-old Fujioka Haruhi turned around, only to find herself being greeted by a beautiful princely blonde that she did not wish to see at the moment.

"Yes, Commissioner?"

The blonde took a step toward the Commander as the target rolled her eyes, annoyed. "I was just wondering, Commander, how are those cases coming along?"

In an uninterested tone the brunette replied dryly, "Fine."

The Commissioner's eyes lit up at the respond he got, obviously not realizing that the woman was troubled by his act.

Okay, maybe he wasn't **that** bothersome and could be very sweet sometimes, but it was at times like this that the Commander seriously regretted about ever choosing to become a police instead of a lawyer like her long deceased mother.

Just as she has expected, the man that all the other women would swoon over parted his lips and, with his face as red as the rose that he was presenting to her, asked if she would like to enjoy a nice candlelight dinner with him that evening.

"No." Haruhi looked back down at the stack of papers waiting for her to go through, blocking out the whining of the man that she had to address as her 'boss'.

He pouted beside her, asking for the nth time as to why she would not go out with him: Was it because he was not good enough for her? Or was it because the birthday present (which was a total of nine-thousand-nine-hundred-ninety-nine roses) that he had given to her last year did not suit her taste?

The Commander sighed inwardly. He would never get it, would he?

"...Look here, Commissioner," said the petite brunette, not daring to look up from her work, fearing of what she might see in his eyes.

She did not back down from the innocent questioning sound of the blonde, however. She knew that she had to tell him the truth sometime soon, so why not get it over with now that he has brought it up?

"I know that you're a nice person—a special person who I can always depend on in fact—and I know that you like me a lot. The truth is, I like you a lot too, but only as a friend. I'm really sorry to say that I have never taken you as more than a mere comrade."

Tamaki stood there stunned.

Was that a...rejection?!

But...Why?

No woman has ever rejected him before!

Maybe Commander darling just didn't feel comfortable enough to go on a date with someone as popular as him?

He for one didn't mind at all that she had come from an impoverished family...

But she had refused to accept his love for her all the same.

He was turned down completely.

Commissioner Suou bit his bottom lip, not knowing how he could prevent this sudden information from sinking in.

Wanting very much to escape the gaze that was resting on her side, Haruhi excused herself quickly and fled into the restroom, leaving the blonde to stare regretfully at the sight of her back.

--

Haruhi fumbled around with the door lock with great impatience.

What had come over her?!

It wasn't a bit like her to be rushing like this; her usual calm ego had been famous within the police force.

That was why she had been chosen as the Commander, as one who was able to make the best decisions even when surrounded by danger.

So what seemed to be the problem here?

...Alright, so she had bluntly told Commissioner Suou that she could not accept his feelings.

But really, how did he expect her to like someone let alone loving someone after that terrible incident with her mother years ago? The one that would still haunt her dreams every now and then...

How was she supposed to learn to love again after the assassination of the most important person in her life?

How?

As Haruhi quietly observed her own features in front of the mirror, the walky-talky that she always carried around on the belt delivered to her the voice of Houshakuji Rengé.

"_Commander Fujioka!_" urgency took the place of the usual girly cheerfulness in Rengé's tone that day.

The brunette immediately noticed that something had gone wrong. "Come in, Inspector."

"_It has been discovered that after vanishing for nearly a hundred years, the infamous Kaitou Hikaru and Kaitou Kaoru have struck again!_"

"What?!" the Commander almost jumped as she yelled into the machine.

"_They left a note at the Mori Art Museum, stating that they are to 'pick up' the 'Crystal Tears of the Mirror' at twelve o'clock sharp tonight._"

Haruhi groaned.

Out of all nights, these two so-called 'Phantom Thieves' just **had** to chose **this** night, where she was clearly not in the mood of a massive chase game, to reappear into the world of judgment.

How devilish.

"_Commander?_" the voice of Inspector Houshakuji grabbed the brunette's attention once again.

"How many men do you have guarding the museum so far?"

There came a thoughtful pause, then Rengé informed her superintendent that she had around 300 policemen surrounding the place.

"Are you sure that's enough?" Haruhi asked with suspicion. "Mori Art Museum is quite enormous of a place as far as I know."

Following the trail of 'ho ho ho's was the confident element added back to the Inspector's tone, "_Oh, please do not let this trouble you my darling Commander,_" she giggled in delight, "_as I am absolutely positively sure that my men won't let me down. They all love me after all._"

Another shrill of Rengé's symbol laughter pierced Haruhi's ears.

The side of the brunette's face twitched a little as she took the walky-talky as far away from her as possible, "So you're saying that Inspector Ootori has agreed to marry you?"

"_He's...Another case..._"

Haruhi laughed. The relationships between the two Inspectors were even stranger than the one between Tamaki and her. "Anyways...I have no other choice than to believe in your judgment now, do I? Just make sure that if you ever need to do anything else, discuss with the supervisor first."

"_Easy for you to say..._" Haruhi could just picture her subordinate sticking her bottom lip out as she murmured, "_How am I supposed to discuss with Mr. Morinozuka when he doesn't even want to **talk** to me?_"

"Just do as I say, Rengé." threatened the Commander, "Or it's no more visual novel-type video games for you."

"_...Oh that's just low..."_

"Did you say something, Inspector?" twitch, twitch, twitch.

"_None at all, ma'am! None at all..._"

"Well then, get to it." the Commander ordered, finding her old confidence and energy once again; sure it was going to be a long night's chase, but hey, if that's what the Phantom Thieves had wanted, then they were in for a surprise.

"_Got ya!_" came the response.

Commander Fujioka suddenly felt a refreshing wind blowing through both her short locks and her lost ego as she opened the restroom door.

--

"Are you alright, Commander?"

As soon as she opened the door, Haruhi once again found herself looking into those charming yet lonely violet eyes.

She shrugged like a stubborn child, getting annoyed by his careful tone already.

The young man in front of her sighed in relief and hugged her. Then he pulled back swiftly, "Sorry that I was a little forceful earlier. I hope that you will forgive me, Haruhi." he added quickly.

Addressing someone by their first name has to be the easiest way to gain forgiveness.

She stared at him unbelievably.

Was he nuts?! What was he apologizing for?!

She was the one who ought to have said sorry! It was **her** fault for hurting him that way!

Sort of...

"No, it's perfectly alright, Commander."

"Why not Tamaki?"

She looked up in surprise. "Eh?"

Realizing that he had not made himself clear, the blonde explained quickly, "Why are you not referring to me as 'Tamaki' even after knowing me for so long?"

Haruhi tilted her head. "Well...At least I got over calling you 'senpai' like I used to."

Upon hearing that quick-witted respond coming out from his subordinate, Commissioner Suou chuckled.

The Commander too smiled, remembering the good times that they had shared back when they were attending high school.

"Anyways, I have a mission for you Commander," the blonde cleared his throat, reminding Haruhi that joke time was over. "I just got a message from Detective Haninozuka, notifying me that the museum in which his cousin is the supervisor at may be in danger tonight."

"Ah, hai!" the petite female nodded in agreement, "Inspector Houshakuji has told me the same thing as well."

"You'd better get going, then?" the Commissioner asked as he picked up the phone to order an automobile prepared for his subordinate.

Haruhi saluted.

"Yes sir, I'll do my best, sir!"

--

Author's Note  
Ever since I was young, I have been very fond of anything that has relations with detectives or Kaitou (also known as 'Phantom Thieves', if you have not realized that earlier). Mystery novels like Arsene Lupin and the series written by Akagawa Jiro all fascinate me a great deal. There has been awhile when I couldn't stop reading that kind of manga as well; Case Closed, Kindaichi Case Files, Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne, and D.N. Angel, are all good examples of the kind of detective/Kaitou manga that I have enjoyed snuggling my nose against.  
That is why I decided to write something like this. The idea was appealing to me, and I liked how it turned out. This piece was meant to be a one-shot originally, but both a friend of mine and a wonderful reviewer – **NutBuster**, said that the ending doesn't sound complete enough and thus not entirely convincing. That's why I've come to the realization that I'm going to make the fic a bit longer. Heh, I hope that's the right decision. X)  
Oh, and by the way, I am **not** a supporter of Tamaki x Haruhi just so you know. I only wrote the story to be this way simply because it suited the plot. Seriously, I prefer the twins way over the blonde. I mean, come on, he's blonde! (Eeek, I see blondies chasing after me...)  
P.S.: Incase anyone wonders, there really is a 'Mori Art Museum' located in Tokyo, Japan; I didn't make it up. It looks to be an elegant building too. The inside is as sophisticated as the outside, mind you. Go do a little research in the library or look it up on Google. I myself definitely wish to visit the place one day.


	2. Intruder

**2. Intruder**

Disclaimer  
Ouran High School Host Club is the shared property between Hatori Bisco and Bones Studio. I own none of the characters nor the original plot line. Only the idea of this fanfic belongs to me.

Author's Note  
I have to declare that many of you **may** be disappointed with this chapter; from this point on, the Tama-Haru relationship is not the centre of attention anymore because I sort of want to work on the development of other couples as well.  
As mentioned before, I am not exactly a huge Tamaruhi fan, as much as I'm okay with fics along that line—Alright, so I'm okay with pretty much every coupling, but you know what I mean—but there would be plentiful of Tamaki x Haruhi still for all those who prefer these two. Don't worry, I live only to serve my readers; if you're happy then I'm happy. XD  
The rating has been changed to 'T' as well because of the first little bit in this chapter; it's not brutally violent or anything, but it may still be disturbing to younger children. (I thank my many years of Japanese Drama watching for this scene where Haruhi gets bullied when she was at school.) Ugh, I do hope that Tamaki doesn't seem too out of character in the flashback...  
Anyways, here comes chapter two!  
P.S.: To all those who have no idea as to what 'Yankees' means, well, it's a term that the Japanese people use in referring to those who look 'not nice', or simply, gangsters.

--

_The warm afternoon sun shone into the chilly classroom._

_Beside the trashcan stood a crowd consisted of five girls._

_In the centre of the group, a young teenager was being pushed against the cold floor by one of the elder students._

_The victim's face was a delicate one. Not too delicate however, because that would have made her look fragile, and she was anything but._

_She was gifted with rosy cheeks, tender pink lips, and flawless flesh; there was nothing unpleasant about her features. All that had belonged to the freshman was perfectly made, especially her amber globs, which were shining with anger and frustration during the moment._

_Many of her classmates had told her how they admired her. Her ravishing eyes, her Godly grades, her calm nature, her just personality...Everything about her was praiseworthy._

_These admirations within her school friends in turn, led to many confessions and eventually, jealousy started to rise from those who could not accept her popularity._

_She began to find the traps that were set up for her; tacks were being placed inside her indoor shoes, dirty water would be poured down from above every time she had to use the restroom. The list went on._

_After the first couple of incidents, though, she quickly adapted to the hateful actions, and would always be able to leave the scene unharmed._

_However, the Yankees had then decided that it was time they showed her how much she was detested._

_Needless to say, the petite brunette had tried her best to protect herself during this unwanted rumble; she succeeded in bruising three of the intruders, and had given two of them cut-lips._

_But there were simply too many of them for her to fight off, so she soon found the anti-Fujioka group beating her to the ground, her hands being clutched tightly behind her by one of the stronger members._

_The youngest girl struggled to get up, but in return she got a solid kick on the temple, and her jaw hit harshly against the floor._

_She saw a blade swaying before her nose, the tip of it reflecting off a quick flash. Then a soft yet frigid whisper breathed into her ear, "Let's see what happens to that pesky pretty face of yours once we finish cutting it up."_

_She shuddered._

_A roar of merciless laughter barged into her hearing organ as she squeezed her eyes shut, not yet ready to face the pain that she would soon have to endure._

_However, the blow never came._

_As the hand that held the weapon was about to strike against the freshman, a tall figure stopped it with a firm grip._

_The original target looked up with great difficulty and saw a pair of ocean blue eyes._

_The rescuer's lips parted as he spoke to the Yankees with forced calm, "Do not, I repeat, do not, ever think of hurting Haruhi again..."_

_Although his princely features were still there, but with the disappearance of the warm smile that was always seen on his face, the four sophomores knew that they were given no choice but to plead for the forgiveness of Suou Tamaki._

--

As soon as Fujioka Haruhi stepped out of the vehicle onto the grounds of the Mori Art Museum, she was greeted by raging noises and constant flashes.

She flinched a little at the sparks of blinding light around her then relaxed once more as she came to the realization that they were merely the cameras of the excited reporters; there has not been such a thrilling event for years.

Haruhi looked up at the grand tower. It was too dark to see anything, so she had to wait till the spotlights to shine on the plate of the clock.

The fancily made minute hand was pointing at the Roman numeral that read 'XI', while the second hand aimed at the sign at the very bottom.

The twin Kaitou would intrude into the museum soon, but she was feeling more prepared than ever as a cool wind blew through her shiny chocolate-brown locks.

"Bring it on." the petite woman muttered as a confident smile appeared around the corners of her lips.

A nearby journalist tugged on the sleeves of her partner when she noticed the arrival of the brunette.

"Commander Fujioka!" the black-haired reporter called out with enthusiasm, which caused all the other reporters to spin around at once.

The Commander soon found herself being surrounded by the crowd, and had to constantly squint her eyes as flashes of pictures were being taken. Millions of questions were violently thrown at her as well; she barely had time to answer the first one when the rest were rubbed into her face.

"Commander, what is your opinion on tonight's event?"

"Commander, do you think you will be able to handle both Phantom Thieves at once?"

"Commander, how many men do you plan on using in order to capture the Phantom Thieves?"

"Commander—"

All the questions that were waiting for her to answer were starting to get irritating. She needed the place to quiet down first so she could think up a strategy. Then she would have to find Inspector Houshakuji and start giving orders.

So, being a tranquil person as she was—unless it was when she had to deal with Commissioner Suou, that would have been another case—Haruhi flashed one of her natural smiles at the eager crowd, (which caused several of the women to regret that the Commander was born a female) and assured the citizens of the country that she would do her best to capture tonight's targets.

--

The cool moon was a shade of scarlet tonight. Strange, yet elegant at the same time.

On top of the grand tower, two identical figures who looked to be about twenty-three-years of age were peering down at the noisy crowd from above with great interest.

Both faces of the mysterious shadows had looked the same, but it was obvious that one was more mature than the other, although more naive at the same time.

"Ne, Hikaru," the sitting individual murmured without looking up at his mirror reflection.

"...Hmm?"

"Humans are such silly creatures, don't you think?" the younger one of the two asked, then beamed at his brother sweetly, "They're making such a huge fuss over nothing."

The older twin's lips curved upwards, although the smile was clearly not out of amusement.

"Ah." he responded absent-mindedly and shrugged, his golden globs fixed on a certain being beneath them.

The other one glanced at what his brother was staring at—...

She was a sophisticated woman who looked to be in her early twenties.

Her frame was small, and, as Kaoru had decided, there was only one word that could be used to describe her; petite. She was not horribly thin like a lot of the modern women. No, her waste was slender and although she did not look entirely luscious, there was a kind of elegancy within her that no other woman could have had the terms to compare with.

Her warm chestnut-coloured tresses hung loosely on her shoulders. It looked perfect on her; if ever it were to be worn any longer or shorter than it was, it would have made her all the less attractive.

On top of her charm was the ethereal yet determined pair of hazel eyes that seemed to hold the magic of lightening up the mood of anyone she talked to.

Right now, although she was having a somewhat difficult conversation with an emotionless spectacled man, an amiable smile was still presented on her face naturally. She even returned the salute back to the male after he had dropped his right hand, walking off and entering the museum from the entrance.

The younger brother looked up again to examine the expression of his own brother. He found both puzzlement and amazement on the face of his other half as he seemed to be absorbed in observing Commander Fujioka.

Grinning mischievously, Kaoru's eyes reflected off of the moonlight and twinkled in the dark like a cat's, "She's beautiful, isn't she?"

Although it was a cool night, the first one of the two immediately felt the heat rising from his neck as he turned his face to look at the moon behind them, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Awww, come on," the younger twin teased, "I know that look, Hikaru. I've known you for almost four-hundred years; I can sense it when there's something on your mind."

"..."

"Besides," Kaoru closed his eyes and went on as a smirk began to form on his face, "the only thing I said was that 'she' was 'beautiful'; I didn't even say who I was referring to but you were already denying the fact! Don't tell me that you've really developed feelings—..."

"...Would you not feel lonely, Kaoru?" Hikaru cut the sentence frankly before his brother could finish.

The younger twin blinked innocently, "You mean, if you ever fall for another and leave me behind?" the understanding smile reappeared with a hint of sad loneliness, "We both have to learn to grow up eventually, Hikaru, and when that day comes, it would be time for us to—"

"To go our separate ways." the older twin finished. He was starting to get tired of this conversation.

His twin nodded solemnly.

Being the more repulsive of the two, Hikaru unintentionally grabbed onto the neckline of his brother's dark outfit and yelled, afraid to admit that maybe, just maybe, his other half had believed that he might someday betray him, "Is that what you want though, Kaoru?"

The younger twin stayed silent and let himself accept the verbal attacks. But his reaction had only urged the anger of his rough twin to explode.

"Why are you not responding to me?!...Oh I get it, you just don't want to have anything to do with me anymore, do you? So is that how it is? You're getting tired of your own brother now?"

A wave of deep hurt flashed across the softer pair of golden eyes. It was Kaoru's turn to face the moonlight and let its soothing coolness heal his wound.

Hikaru, who was now regretting and was getting frustrated, let go of his mirror reflection while he mumbled a quiet apology.

The silence between them dominated the air for a minute while the crowd underneath carried on with their exaggerated commotions.

Kaoru was the first one to make a move, unlike all the other times.

He sighed as he stood up. Then the graceful smile returned to his face as he playfully slapped his brother's back, trying to lighten up the mood, "Of course I would never get tired of my darling oniichan! So please don't worry, Hikaru, you know that I will love you forever no matter what the future might bring. Ne?"

Hikaru got up on his feet and, unexpectedly, pulled his other half closer toward his own body, hugging the soft auburn locks that were a duplicate of his own.

He took a deep breath, losing himself within the scent of citrus spice.

Before letting go completely, the older twin planted a gentle kiss on his ototou's forehead, followed by a tender 'thank you.'

The younger one nodded and extended his black wings, flying off into the night sky on his own, knowing that his older brother needed some alone time.

However, even without the unrealized pressure that Kaoru was unintentionally giving him, Hikaru still could not help but to feel irritated.

A surge of loneliness came and overwhelmed his heart.

What was this tension that was stuck in his chest, making him so uncomfortably breathless?

Could it be...That his brother had been right? That he had really fallen for that unworthy human?

That...Commander Fujioka?!

Impossible.

He had never believed in 'love at first sight'; the kind of foolishness only existed in fantasies, in fairytales, and everybody knows that they don't exist.

...Immortal Phantom Thieves have been believed to be only an illusion by many humans as well though, but there he was standing on the roof of a tower, ready to break into the museum within minutes.

How would one explain that?

Besides his feeling of uncertainty, she was only a human, a mere human that was not even suitable to lick the shoes of an immortal like him.

And to top it all off, she was in charge of capturing him and his brother.

Wanting to be with her would mean to place both of them in the hands of danger.

It was forbidden.

Although he hated to admit it, but clearly, he was living in a world completely different from that of Fujioka Haruhi's.

He could not force something that was never meant to be.

Or...Could he?

--

Five minutes till twelve, then she would come face to face with the legend that her deceased mother had once told her about.

The Commander stood beside Inspector Houshakuji and her partner, Ootori, who were busy ordering the troop of three hundred men to hurry up with the security guarding.

Haruhi checked her own belongings:

Two pairs of handcuffs; if one was lost or broken then the other pair would be needed. A fifteen inched baton; to fight off the Phantom Thieves if they ever tried to attack. And lastly, a 380 ACP pocket gun; something she would have to use if there ever came the absolute compulsory.

She hated to end people's lives, of course; who would want to do such a thing, right? But it was her job as a police officer to protect the properties of others.

A sweet melody drifted out of Haruhi's uniform pocket, and she took out her silver-coloured cell phone.

"Fujioka speaking."

From the other end of the phone came the delighted singsong of her boss, "_Commander hime!_"

"Oh, hello Commissioner." a smile rose upon her face. It was good to hear his voice again at a tense moment like this.

"_I just want to say that, Commander, I wish you all the best in carrying out this mission._"

"Thank you for the kind words, sir." she answered systematically.

The Commissioner gave a light chuckle as he suddenly remembered something else.

"_And...Haruhi?_" he added in a shy voice, now moving on to a more personal conversation

"Yes, Commissioner?"

In almost a hushed undertone, Commissioner Suou whispered huskily, "_...Please take extra good care of yourself, my hime._"

The Commander raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

As if he had gathered up his courage, the blonde male spoke into the mouthpiece with a distinctly loving tone, "_I...I don't know what I would do if I ever lose you, Haruhi._"

The brunette shook her head and laughed, taking that her boss was just in one of his moods of flirting with women, "You do know that your sweet talks can never make me fall for you, Commissioner?"

"_Promise me, Haruhi. Please. I'm having a bad feeling that—_"

"If you don't mind me saying so, sir, fate and sixth sense are not to be trusted."

An awkward silence broke out between the two.

Haruhi sighed eventually, signaling to Tamaki that she had surrendered. "I will pay extra attention in my surroundings, sir, if that is what you had wanted to hear. But I have to inform you that I must go now; there's only thirty seconds before twelve."

"_Very well,_" the voice of the blonde said, sounding once more like the superintendent that he was, "_I will be hearing good news from you then, Commander?_"

"Yes sir."

Sliding the cell phone back into her pocket, Haruhi's ears picked up the first strike in the series of twelve peals.

Two shadows appeared under the radiant moon and vanished into the dark sky as suddenly as they came.

In the midst of the exclaiming and gasping crowd, Commander Fujioka flashed a sneer that was so different from her usual warm smiles.

"Let the game...Begin..."

--

Author's Note  
And that ends our second chapter. Oh I wanted to write more about the shounen-ai scene between Hikaru and Kaoru, but couldn't really bring up another reason for the physical contacts. Ahem ahem.  
...I just realized too, that I'm better at writing kuso fanfics; I kept on wanting to add some retarded smart arse comment within the chapter like I always do with my so-called 'humourous' fics, (which would always turn out to be kind of...BS-ish too...Ugh.) but really, this story's really too darn serious for my own liking. Oh hell with it...  
Hm, the mysterious yet elegant mood in this chapter reminded me a little of the first chapter of the D.N. Angel manga. Don't know why, but I enjoy reading/watching/looking at things with those elements.  
Ne ne...the last chapter was like a little relationship interlude between Colonel Mustang and Lieutenant Hawkeye (FullMetal Alchemist), eh? That's what it reminded me of after I finished it. Oh and by the way, Mustang's useless characteristic is **­L-O-V-E**! Ha ha ha. X3  
On a side note...Come on people! Please review! Just tell me whether you enjoyed it or not, it's that simple! There's like, 100 hits on the story currently but only 2 reviews...-twitch-


	3. Remembrance

**3. Remembrance**

Disclaimer  
Ouran High School Host Club is the shared property between Hatori Bisco and Bones Studio. I own none of the characters nor the original plot line. Only the idea of this fanfic belongs to me.

Author's Note  
Ah..This chapter was so hard to think up, but after reading your wonderful reviews I just had to write more! Yes, thank you very much for your support, minna.  
I have nothing more to say at this point except for 'Please read on'!

--

_The bright morning light stroke roughly onto the knife that had taken the life of Fujioka Kotoko._

_On the weapon was the word 'Tonnerre' printed in a fancy gold font._

_Gold, a symbol of wealth and prestigious, could also be interpreted as a hint that none of the police or judges would have declared the murderer to be guilty._

_'Tonnerre'..._

_It was the surname of Suou Tamaki's former fiancée. The former fiancée who was one of the senior girls that had ganged up on the latest victim's freshman daughter._

_In fact, Éclair Tonnerre happened to be the leader of the anti-Fujioka group._

_"God damn it Fujioka, don't be such an arrogant bastard! And learn how to respect your elders will you?!" the Yankees had verbally attacked the brunette before performing any physical violence on her._

_Then they banged her head against the marble floor and forced her to say sorry for her 'bad behaviours'. She, of course, refused coldly; she had done nothing wrong, and therefore, did not know what she had to apologize for._

_So the bullying went on._

_Fujioka Kotoko had then arrived at the principal's office, asking him to stop the harmful actions toward her daughter from going on._

_He ignored her pleading however._

_To him, the power of the wealthy was everything, and Éclair Tonnerre's Father was definitely categorized as one of the influential people; he participated in the funding of the school along with the school Chairman – Suou Yuzuru, Father of Suou Tamaki._

_Realizing that fact, Kotoko went directly to the Chairman._

_However, she was once again turned down._

_He proclaimed that he was too busy._

_Too busy to work on whatever it was that he had to work on for the good of the school. He had had no time to deal with the problems of every single student, especially not the Commoner that his son had fallen for._

_Without anybody else to turn to, Kotoko, being the lawyer that she was, had no choice but to sue Éclair Tonnerre for Third Degree Murder; it was true that the sophomore had not been able to hurt the freshman, but if it wasn't for the appearance of Suou Tamaki, Éclair could have damaged her daughter's face or worse, taken her life._

_As expected, the Fujiokas did not win the case._

_What Kotoko did, however, had left a long deep scar on the reputation of the Tonnerre family._

_No one was willing to social with them anymore._

_No one._

_And it was all her fault._

_Her and her cursed monster of a daughter..._

_When Fujioka Haruhi got home from school one particular evening, she had found her Mother's high heels to be placed at the front porch, so she decided cheerfully that Kotoko must have gotten home early from work._

_The petite girl went directly to the kitchen, hoping to find her okaa-san there._

_But to her surprise, the only thing she found was a pot full of freshly baked cookies that were placed on the table._

_She was at the restroom, perhaps?_

_No._

_How about the living room?_

_...No? Then try the backyard._

_Still no sign of the female lawyer._

_She was nowhere to be found, and Haruhi was starting to get worried._

_It wasn't until the petite girl walked into her parents' bedroom, did she notice the pool of blood beside the body of Fujioka Kotoko._

_Her heart skipped a beat._

_Just when she was about to rush over to her Mother's side, she heard from behind her the heavy breathing of another being within the room._

_She vigilantly spun around to see a girl with a head full of long rich burgundy-coloured hair, holding onto a knife with one shaky hand. Tears were streaming down the assassinator's cheeks, and both of her arms were wounded from the possible fight from before._

_As soon as Éclair Tonnerre saw the brunette, who also happened to be one that had gotten her into this murdering, she practically lost her sanity._

_The pupils of the intruder had shrunk, and without saying anything at all, the blood-stained weapon was shot toward the other girl._

_The freshman dodged, stumbling backwards clumsily and dropped her backpack._

_She panicked, not knowing whether she should go to her wounded Mother or to flee for the sake of her own life._

_Her mind was quickly made up._

_Fujioka Haruhi stormed out of the house and sprinted toward Suou Mansion Number Two._

--

The alarm went off while Commander Fujioka was running toward where the 'Crystal Tears of the Mirror' was at – the Third Display Room.

Taking the signal as a cue, the laser barriers shot out from all directions almost immediately as if wanting to kill anyone who would pass the place at this point.

Everywhere around her there was dead silence, making her wonder what the use of having a security team was. She made a mental note to herself that she would most definitely have to order the Inspectors to organize a stronger—and not to mention smarter—group of guards next time.

The brunette then turned to look at what was ahead of her.

It was not till now did she finally realize that she was blessed to have undergone Detective Haninozuka's trainings; any ordinary policeman would not have been able to get through the mass of barriers before her eyes.

The young Commander tucked a strand of lose hair behind her ear and took a deep breath.

Studying the laser closest to her, Haruhi noticed that it was a fake. She went passed several of the dummies and kept running, occasionally making careful little hops or moving in between the actual barriers.

Then she stopped all of a sudden, recognizing that the one right before her face was the real thing.

After making a quick jump over the laser by running up and kicking against the wall, arrows started shooting out of the holes on the concrete.

Without much difficulty the Commander did a triple back flip, using certain arrows as boosts.

She did not make one single sound as she landed.

Panting slightly, her ears picked up the rumbling sound coming from above.

A metal cage fell out of the ceiling, crashing down on her in an alarmingly fast speed.

She swiftly pushed herself into the air and dodged the trap, making a graceful curve as she landed before the entrance of the Third Display room.

As much as she had wanted to kick open the grand doors, she knew that she would have to enter soundlessly; the reawakening of noises would become a signal for the Phantom Thieves to escape.

She entered the password that Mr. Morinozuka had given her and gave one of the doors a slight push, sneaking into the room silently.

To her surprise, the 'Crystal Tears of the Mirror' was still sitting ever so peacefully in its place.

But if it had not been stolen...

Then why did the alarm go off?

Surely the Phantom Thieves would not have wanted to come face to face with her?

Because if they did, it would be all too unnatural; thieves were meant to be running away from the police after all.

Right...?

As the Commander carefully planned on what her next action would be, a soft snicker echoed within the broad and empty room. It sounded like that of the devil's.

She spun around in alarm.

However, darkness was all there was for her to observe.

She lightly strolled around the room but had found nothing other than the displayed items.

She decided then, that the laughter was probably just her imagination. All this pressure was giving her a headache, no wonder she was hearing things.

But wait...

There it was again! The laughter of Satan itself...

This time she stood still, and soon felt two other beings standing on either side of her.

Turning around, the petite woman found herself looking into a pair of attractive golden eyes, which became more focused as the stranger walked out from under the shadows.

The one on the other side of her held the same actions as his mirror reflection. The Cheshire cat grins that they had on their faces were somehow luring her deeper into the tension that had already been building up in her chest.

"Pleasant night, isn't it, Fujioka Haruhi-san?"

The petite Commander's brows shook a little, and droplets of sweat began to form on her forehead as she posed herself for a fist fight.

"Kaitou..." she managed to force out the word through gritted teeth, her eyes glinting dangerously, warning them to stay away.

But how was she supposed to fight off two full-grown men at the same time?

She knew they could easily outmatch her.

One of the Phantom Thieves let out a sly smirk as he shook a piece of hair out of his eyes, crossing his arms before his chest as he gazed casually and superiorly at the woman before him.

Looking smugger than ever, the younger of the twin-thieves ran a finger along the chin of their current 'toy'. "Please my dear, the names are Hikaru and Kaoru. Former titles such as 'Kaitou' will not be necessary during the courses of our conversation."

Slapping off the intruding hand from under her jaw, Haruhi snuck out the two pairs of handcuffs that she had prepared for moments such as this.

She silently took ahold of the targets' wrists and clicked the lock in place as they bent down in the same manner, leaning toward each side of her face as if to press their soft lips against her flesh.

Without a forewarn, both pairs of handcuffs clanged against the marble floor, startling the Commander herself.

"You do realize that mortal objects lose their effects on us?" the older of the two sneered as he picked up the object that the brunette had just used on them.

He then grabbed her wrists in a mischievous yet forceful way, meaning to pinion her freedom with the handcuffs.

Without saying anything at all, the Commander jerked her arm away and sent Hikaru crashing into the wall with a full forced kick against his stomach. Several of the paintings on the wall fell crashing down.

This action of hers startled both Phantom Thieves.

Unlike the twins, she was taking this so seriously...

But why?

It had all been a game to them centuries before, and it still was.

They had become thieves because it was lonely to be living with only each other for hundreds of years.

Making newspaper headlines day after day would surely attract people's attention, and would surely help in getting rid of both their loneliness and their boredom.

Not to mention how thrilling it was to see the infatuated female citizens making fools of themselves.

All the young maidens had been swooning over the charm of the twin-thieves although they knew perfectly well that stealing was not the right thing to do.

Oh, but the idea was just so attractive; who would be needing a 'Prince on a White Horse' when you've got a pair of twin Phantom Thieves, right?

So what was this young girl so angry about anyways?

Why was she not falling head over heals for them, the two drop-dead gorgeous twins?

Why was she so unpredictable, unlike all the other women they have met?

So tiny and delicate yet so strong and stubborn.

Upon seeing the reaction of the Commander, the younger twin decided to take things the gentle way; being forceful is not the only solution in problem solving.

Kaoru leaned toward his target and whispered softly as he caressed her shoulders, his hot breath tickling her ear, "Please learn to respect your elders, Fujioka Haruhi-san."

Although the tone and attitude were completely opposite, but the effect of the statement was definitely powerful.

Both the memories of the high school beating and her betrayal of Kotoko began to devour the petite brunette.

With a hasty inhale she broke free from the younger twin's embrace. Her legs began to knock against each other and were unable to keep her standing any longer. The usually indomitable brunette collapsed, sitting hopelessly on the floor as tears swelled up in her amber orbs, ready to descend down her now flushed cheeks.

The Phantom Thieves were at a loss once more.

Why was she in so much grief?

And...

Why were they feeling so uneasy seeing her like that?

But before they could figure out what the reason was, a thunderous noise became louder and louder as two Inspectors, one Detective, along with the supervisor of the museum came storming into the Third Display Room and besieged both intruders.

With their crafty grins reappearing on their identical faces, the twin Phantom Thieves backed away from Haruhi, retreating to the 'Crystal Tears of the Mirror'. Each of them held onto one side of the art piece and were ready to flee.

Inspector Houshakuji hurriedly mounted her gun and aimed at one of the two.

However, being the ever calculated one as he was, Inspector Ootori knew that if she was to fire now, parts of the art work would have been destroyed as well.

"Hold your gun, Inspector." he ordered in an emotionless tone.

Detective Haninozuka glared at the two intruders, murmuring something about how it had been a big mistake for them to be messing with Haru-chan and that he would get revenge for her and such.

The tension was building up, but the Phantom Thieves were still casually making their way toward the room's glorious window frame, preparing to leave.

One of the twins, the one that parted his hair from the right, held out a hand, and several delicate blue petals appeared upon his palm.

He blew lightly at the fragments of the flower. They landed gently in front of the petite brunette.

"Till we meet again, Fujioka Haruhi-san." Kaoru muttered quietly without any changes in his facial expression.

After casting one last glance at the still despaired brunette, the elder twin gestured an elegant farewell at the rest of the policemen and the two Phantom Thieves took off into the sable night.

The rest of the group quickly moved to the petite girl, with Rengé and Mitsukuni kneeling down beside her.

"Are you alright, Commander darling?"

"Did they hurt you, Haru-chan?"

However, Haruhi did not look at either of the two. Instead, she held out a hand to touch the blue petals that Hikaru had left.

They were that of a forget-me-not's.

And if she remembered correctly, the meanings of the forget-me-nots are hope, remembrance, memories, and true love...

--

On her way back home, Commander Fujioka decided to make a quick phone call to her boss, although she was clearly dreading over the fact that she had to tell him in every single detail as to how she had let him down.

To her surprise, however, after she had finished stuttering over her words, the blonde did not yell at her, nor did he go all dramatic the way he always would in order to exaggerate his emotions.

"_No problem,_" he had said, "_We'll just have to make a more thorough plan next time, won't we?_"

"...Yes sir, I am forever grateful for your kindness."

Tamaki let out a soft laugh, getting amused by the formality that the Commander always seemed to be unable to drop. "_And I'll make sure to tell the reporters to go easy on tomorrow's headline._" he teased.

Haruhi felt the heat rising but she managed to bark at the blonde, "Commissioner! That was the cruelest joke yet!"

He chuckled once more then continued, this time in a more serious and concerned tone, "_So...Are you feeling better now, Haruhi?_"

The brunette made a questioning sound, signaling him to go on.

"_Detective Haninozuka told me that you had refused to tell them what happened between you and the Phantom Thieves._"

She remained silent, knowing all too well that he would not have understood the situation.

"It was nothing." she responded simply, not wanting to hear what the blonde would say to this.

"_But Haruhi!_" Tamaki was starting to sound desperate, "_Why?...Why do you not want to tell me what happened?! Are we not friends, Haruhi? Or does this have anything to do with me asking you out before?! Are you still mad at me over that?! But I thought we have already made up?...Say something Haruhi! Why do you always lock up your worries to yourself?!_"

Getting more and more irritated by his constant budging in on her business, the brunette snapped her cell phone close, throwing it down on the passenger seat.

He did not call back.

Not that she had expected him to anyways.

--

It was nearly two o'clock as she reached the apartment that she and her Father shared.

One would wonder why she had not moved out of the house even at age twenty-two, but she knew better than to worry her Father, who always seemed to be troubled by the fact that her profession was a police.

It could also be her guilt of having betrayed her Mother years ago.

Who knew what kind of madness a man like Ryuji would get into without his daughter always keeping an eye on him? So she had supposed that it would be best if she continued living under the roof of her Father's tiny aparto.

As predicted, her Father was not home yet, probably having a few drinks with his coworkers after the night's work.

The two of them were night owls; both would have to work during the night, although in the case of the daughter, things were a bit different.

She normally worked during the mornings but sometimes there were occasions where she would have to work extra late.

Tonight would be a good example of how her work always occupied her, and why she and her Father could never have a proper meal together.

Because she was so used to staying up late, the petite girl was, at the moment, feeling the least bit sleepy.

So after changing into an ordinary white t-shirt and a pair of slacks, she walked out of the apartment with a piece of chocolate-chipped cookie dangling from the edge of her lips.

She went down to the apartment's mailbox and just so happened to run into the patrolling security guard, a man in his mid-sixties.

"Good morning, Ojisan." the brunette greeted politely with a slight bow.

"Ah, Haruhi-chan, it's nice to see a youth like you getting up so early," the elderly man smiled kindly at her, obviously not knowing that she had not been sleeping at all. "You know, young people these days always like to sleep-in so much without knowing that it's bad for their health! Why in my days—"

The Commander smiled at the way the senior was making his speech. Why all the elders talked that way was beyond her, but one could always learn so much from listening to the old people's past experience!

"By the way, Haruhi-chan?" it seemed like that the old security guard was finished and was moving on to another topic, Haruhi looked back at him with a questioned expression on her face. "Did you know that two young people moved into our neighbourhood this morning while you were away?"

"Oh? Are they lovers living together?" experience told Haruhi that it would always end up being something like that, "Or a newly wed couple, perhaps?"

"Ah, so Haruhi-chan's thinking of getting married as well, eh?" the old man teased, chuckling good-naturedly.

The Commander waved one hand and frowned as she smiled, "No, no, it's still too early for that."

"Not really; Ryuji-kun proposed to Kotoko-chan when they were twenty—It's time you consider finding a man you would like to spend the rest of your life with, don't you think? How about Suou-san? He does come here once in a while, and he seems to be such a pleasant young man!"

Wanting very much to get away from the topic of Tamaki at the moment, the brunette answered perfunctorily, "Oh um...Well, he's an...interesting one. For sure. Now, Ojisan, what were you saying about our new neighbours?"

The old security guard sighed and shook his head while smiling, knowing all too well that, as usual, some kind of disagreement had occurred between the two. "Ah yes. So as I was saying, the two youngsters that had moved in were—...Speak of the devil! Here they come." he held out one crooked finger and pointed at somewhere behind the female Commander as she chewed slowly on another piece of cookie.

Haruhi turned around to look at the direction that the security was pointing to and froze.

"...You have **got** to be kidding me... "

The first thing she noticed were their eyes; identical golden globs that seemed to twinkle in the dark, and would surely lure the young females that have stared at them for too long into doing whatever they had planned.

Then she noticed their hair, which was really kind of messy, yet looked quite nicely on them. One had his hair parted to the right, while the other had it parted to the left.

The old security guard smiled with a satisfied look on his face as he examined his young friend studying the pair of brothers.

Maybe she would get married soon after all? How thrilling! He could hardly wait for the wedding banquet.

Then the senior, as if he was a child playing hide-and-seek, quietly slipped away unnoticed, returning to his patrolling schedule.

The twins walked toward the young Commander with their arms around each other's shoulders, both holding somewhat sly looking smiles.

They approached Haruhi.

The older one of the twin then, without warning, lifted her face and bit off a huge chunk of the cookie that she had hanging from her mouth. But she was too stunned to actually kick him away this time.

The younger twin stood beside her, licking off the crumbs that were left on her right cheek as he said softly, "It's nice to see you again, Fujioka Haruhi-san."

--

Author's Note  
Thank you for reading :)  
I admit, my descriptions on the action parts were horrible...And nothing really big has happened in this chapter, well other than the fact that the 'Chrystal Tears of the Mirror' had been taken...Oh I really didn't want to weigh the romance part that heavy, I mean, after all this **is** a more dramatic action fic. Ugh, but the romance part was still **huge**...Anyways, all I can say is gomen nasai, for the lack of interesting events!  
But I just need more practice with the action scenes, see? Then my skills would (hopefully) improve. If anybody could give me some criticisms on it please don't feel too awkward to do so; holding back would only result in me making even more mistakes.  
Hm...I'm sort of out of ideas as to what kind of challenges I can put Haruhi through now. What to do, what to do, what to do...?! And everybody's been having all kinds of different pairings in mind, but I for one actually don't care about who Haru ends up with. Maybe I'm just not that much of a romance person?...Eh?! What am I doing here writing this romance fic, then?! Ugh...I'm such a failure! "OTL  
Anyways, enough of my problems. Now all I wish for is for you wonderful readers to please review! Reading what everyone has to say about the story is always a pleasant experience for me, yes. And remember to cast a vote for your favorite couple, ne? Even if it was Kyouya x Haruhi (Which has not the slightest hint within this fic yet..) I will try my best, as well as one-sided shounen-ai; I am terribly bad at yaoi, therefore I will not be accepting that, gomen! I truly hope I will be able to write a good yaoi fic someday though!  
Anyways, please regard me kindly in future chapters!  
P.S.: Happy New Year! It's the Year of the Boar! Oh, I **do** like Kagura (Fruits Basket) and her silliness!


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